Nigel Brown: Short Lives of Birds
Nigel Brown (ONZM) was born in Invercargill, New Zealand in 1949. He studied under Colin McCahon while at Elam School of Arts, University of Auckland, where he achieved his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1971. Since then he has exhibited extensively in public and private galleries throughout New Zealand and has had several touring exhibitions.
Nigel Brown is one of New Zealand’s most instantly recognised artists. His works are painterly and expressive, with colour playing an important role in the overall composition, reflecting the bare tones of New Zealand landscape. He blends symbolic and expressionist approaches with a deep social concern and mixes myth with realism to create visual stories specific to New Zealand culture.
- Opening Date: Tuesday, 30 November 2010
- Closing Date: Saturday, 25 December 2010
- Opening Time: Tuesday 30 November 5:30pm
"Birds don't exist in isolation in these paintings but are
related to humans. They retain their own identities but often have
symbolic implications... the works are about creating a mythology
and making commentary". Nigel Brown
Making commentary is what Nigel Brown does. He creates scenes
and images that are confronting in their familiarity and at the
same time imbued with references of a philosophical and physical
nature. The subtlety and imagery are what make his work, and this
series, what they are, personal, political, referential and
reverential.
Nigel Brown's latest series of paintings, titled "Short Lives of
Birds", brings together a wonderful amalgamation of new experiences
into familiar techniques and depictions.
essay excerpt Andrew Gomez
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